Since high school Nik Sharp, Jon Stride and Paul Michael of Suburban Tragedy have been working hard to not become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Fed up with record labels, radio spins, and the Tampa area’s lack of a music scene, they are more recently concerned with only one thing: Rocking. Hard.
With a dedicated fan base and connections to local venues, they have played with an energy and intensity that is lacking in the small town from where they hail. Evolving their modern punk-rock style from singing about rubber duckies, and covering songs from Abbey Road, to writing songs with the kind of emotional depth that could only come from the disenfranchised youth of a small town. It’s a sound that has garnered them a lot of attention from the tender-aged denizens of Palm Harbor--where most of the members of the band currently reside.
Their newest CD, Fresh Out Of Happy Endings, features a human metronome named Jason Rawlings (former drummer of Self) bringing a new level of consciousness to their music. The album is almost bipolar in nature, running the emotional gamut, perfectly matching the sentiments of their local fan-base. The dichotomy is probably most evident when comparing 16 Reasons to Pretend. The first is about dealing with the illusion of dignity that certain women have acquiesced in the dating world, while the latter is a more intimate song about faith--a relationship of an entirely different nature.
Finished trying to appeal to the corporate world, and picking up their instruments only to satisfy their own desires, Suburban Tragedy has a different mission than the one they used to hold in such high regard. They have started their own record company, and Sharp has taken complete control over his band. He has more than a hand in everything from printing concert flyers to having his music distributed to Best Buy and FYE stores. Having a hit radio single on 97x FM (WSUN), and playing before 30 Seconds to Mars, and My Chemical Romance at Next Big Thing 5, was a big deal at the time, but now all they want is to jump on a bus and play wherever and whenever they can.
Independently, Suburban Tragedy has sold over 30,000 albums. Throughout the next year they will work on taking what they have already accomplished and bringing it to a new level. Going back into the studio in March to produce a fifth album for nation-wide release, they plan on doing their first national tour in the Summer of 2007. Just four guys, their instruments and a bus.
And that’s exactly how they like it.
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